Genesis Starmen.net does what Ninten-don't. For over a year now, their team of dedicated programmers have been plugging away on making a translation hack of the Japanese language only GBA game Mother 3/Earthbound2. And here dear readers is the first true taste of the fruits of their labor. Behold, for the first time (on Destructoid), the first ten minutes of Mother 3 ... in English. 

Actually, this hack is the work of three previously separate teams, all pooling their resources together for a common goal. They worked day and night for absolutely no financial gain of their own, all to try and bring this game they love so dearly to the small, but dedicated English-speaking audience who craves it.

Even if you have no interest in the Mother series, taking a look at the Starmen.net site just to witness how deeply devoted these fans are is in itself worth the (free) price of admission. The site is a painstakingly detailed account of everything about the Mother series. From interviews with the developers, to fan art posted more than twice a week; to a library of screens, movies, and text based info on each game in the series including the canceled N64 entry; to walkthroughs, message boards, links to auctions of Mother related swag, the list of content on this site is nearly endless.  These primarily Western born men and women are dedicated to a game series that has  almost no recognition or appreciation by the gaming public of their native land. Can you imagine Japan's Halo fans being this dedicated? I sure can't.

It takes a lot for such dedicated fans to rebel against the company that created the games they hold so dear, creating an unauthorized hack. To the credit of the Starmen.net team, they've tried on many occasions to convince Nintendo to translate Mother 3 themselves. They created a huge print based anthology of their love of the series, and sent it to the game's eccentric creator Shigesato Itoi, as well as multiple employees at Nintendo of America and Japan. They scored an interview with Nintendo Power about, among other things, their near fanatical desire for NoA to translate Mother 3 into English. They started a Wii-specific group to try and rally people to pester Nintendo through the Everybody Votes Channel. And all their attempts to convince NoA to translate Mother 3 themselves continue today in the multi-tiered effort the Starmen call EB Siege. 

So they tried everything they could to get Nintendo to do the right thing, but they just didn't seem to give a rat's ass. It makes me want to jump up onto my high horse about how Nintendo of America needs to start employing less uncreative, soulless salary men, and start employing actual videogame loving adults like myself, but that wouldn't be too professional. Plus, I've never actually applied for a job at Nintendo, so I can't really blame them for not hiring me. 

I am more excited about this short fan translation vid than I am about either of those respectably budgeted, but mostly souless and generic tasting, Final Fantasy XIII trailers we just recently posted. Mother 3 is still my most wanted RPG of 2008, even though it came out in Japan in 2006. It is an original voice in a crowd of JRPGs that mostly have nothing new to say.